Industry groups are challenging a federal judge’s order meant to bolster federal protections for the vulnerable Rice’s whale — but that oil and gas producers say threatens drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Late Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute, EnerGeo Alliance and the National Ocean Industries Association appealed a ruling last month from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that directed the Biden administration to redo its analysis of how fossil fuel development could harm the critically endangered marine mammal and other species.
API has warned the Biden administration that the decision could lead to a “bureaucratic bottleneck” in an area that produces roughly 15 percent of the nation’s oil.
Judge Deborah Boardman gave NOAA Fisheries until Dec. 20 before her order striking down the agency’s 2020 biological opinion goes into effect. Offshore drilling permits rely on the analysis being finalized. Energy companies risk illegally harming marine life if they proceed without a valid biological opinion in place.
